Manifold



A. HOLMES.

MANIFOLD.

APPLICATION FILED APILZS, 1920.

-137591 Q l Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

ATTOR EJ ity than the former,

, and particularly I UNTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR HOLMES, OF CANTON, OI-IIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE HOLMES AUTOMOBIL lCOM- PANY, OF CANTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

MANIFOLD.

israelo.

Specification of Letters Patent.,

Patented Apr. 2e, i921.

Application filed April 28, 19,20. I Serial-No. 377,360.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, ARTHUR HOLMES, of Canton, in the county of Stark, in the State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Manifolds, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certainimprovements in internal combustion engines and pertains more particularly to an inlet manifold for multi-cylinder engines of the type named and reference is hereby made to my co-pending application, Serial Number' 207,868, filed December 19, 1917, and containing the broad claims to a manifold ern-v bodying the principles of construction utilized in the present disclosures.

With the constantly decreasing volatility of the gasolene now .being supplied for use in internal combustionw'ilengines, and particularly in cold weatherhntil the motor warms up, it has been a more and more difficult problem to prevent one or more lcylinders from getting more fuel lin proportion to air as compared to other cylinders of the same engine using the same carbureter. This trouble is caused by the fact that the mixture traveling through the inlet manifold is not altogether a homogeneous gas, but partly a mechanical mixture of particles of unvaporized fuel, vaporized fuel and air.

It is easy to distribute the air and truly vaporized fuel, but the particles of unvaporized fuel, ,having a greater specific gravpresent a different problem due to the tendency to throw such parcles to one side at any bend in the passage under such condition as the turning of ay corner in the inlet manifold, where inertia becomes effective, the unvaporized gas or liquid going in a straight line while the air and gas turn the corner without difficulty.

This fault in previous inlet manifolds makes it impossible to adjust the mixture at its origin in the carbureter so as to give the proper mixture in all cylinders, resulting in non-uniform operation and loss of power overwhat the engine would give with proper. distribution of fuel, and in a tendency to soot the spark plugs and form carbon on the walls of the cylinders getting other effects detrimental to the running qualities of the engine.

Designers have, in the past, made many attempts to correct this fault in the distribution of the mixture. @ne way has been to apply heat to the mixture at the carbureter and during its passage to the various cylinders in .an attempt to thoroughly vapori'ze the fuel and prevent condensation on its way to the cylinder. .The difficulty with this method is that the amount of heat necessary to produce the required results is so great that it reduces the volumetric v.etliciency of the engine and often results in cracking, or disintegrating' the fuel. @ther attempts have been made along the line of making the path of the gases to the various cylinders equal `in length but designers of this type of manifold failed to take into consideration the fact that at the bends in the passagffcs fuel is thrown out by centrifugal force and due to the shape of the manifold is thrown into one or more cylinders out of proportion to the remaining cylinders.

This invention takes into consideration the inertia of the free fuel and takes advan-v tage of this inertia to obtain equal qualitative distribution of the mixture with the result that the engine is exceedingly smooth in operation at all times, the spark plugsare" not fouled, and misiring and other detri-l mental results 'are avoided. y Y

Other objects and advantages ofthe invention relate to the detailsof construction and operation as will more fully appear from the following description, Vtaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which vThe drawingsl illustrate a manifold de-A Figure 1 is a sectional view ofthe manisigned specifically'for an engine comprising four (4:) cylinders in a row, .adapted 'to be supplied from a single fuel source.

As shown, this particular embodiment of A my invention consists of a, main conduit -1- having at substantiallyits central point a carbureter branch -2-- through which the fuel is supplied to the main conduit -l, the latter conduit acting to effect an equal qualitative distribution'of fuel to the branch conduits -3-, -4-`, 5 and -6-. Preferably, these branch conrespect-ive branch conduits the central pori tion 8 of the main conduit is offset, toward the outlet of the branch conduits a distance substantially equal to one-half the diameter of the'niain conduit, such olf-set portion being so constructed and arranged that the division lines or Ys -9- and -10- at the junction of the branch conduits 4- and -5 with the main conduit extend partially across the center olfset portion -8- of said conduit, and as shown, extend substantially half-way across the off-set portion to form deflecting surfaces -11- and -12-. This construction does not reduce the diameter of the main conduit beyond the said lines of division or Ys. I

The object of this construction will be readily understood: When the cylinder in communication with branch -3 draws its charge, a portion of the fuel in passing the Y -9vwill be thrown by its inertia into branch -4-- due to the position of the deflecting surface -l1-, practically all of the air and vapor going to the branch '--3-. The fuel thus deposited in branch -4- will remain there until the cylinder in communication with that branch draws its charge. When this takes place a portion of the free fuel will be thrown by its inertia into the branch -3-, the amount in each instance depending upon the' position of the division or Y -9-, and asthis division line is practically in -line with the center of the off-set portion -8- of the main conduit, the amount of free fuel thrown into branch -3- when the cylinder in communication with branch -4- is drawing its charge, and the amount of free fuel drawn into branch 4- when the cylinder in communication with'branch 3- draws its charge should be substantially equal, and are in practice found to be substantially equal, thus effecting an equal qualitative distribution of fuel to these cylinders.

The operation in connection with branches -5- and -6- is the same as that just described, and as branch -ev is of substantially the same form and construction as branch -6- and branch -4-- is in substantially the same form and construction as bnanch -5-1 a substantially equal qualitative distribution of fuel to all the cylinders is affected. i

Although l have shown and described a specific construction as illustrative of my invention, it will be obvious that changes in details of form and "construction may be made without departing from the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is :v HA l l. An inlet manifold for multi-cyl1nder engines consisting of four cylinders ar ranged in a row and adapted to be supplied from one fuel source, comprising a main conduit and four branch conduits in communication therewith, a carbureter branch connected to substantially the central portion of the main conduit, said main conduit having its central portion off-set in a directiontoward the outlet of the said branches a distance approximately one-half the diameter of said main conduit, the line of division between the main conduit and the branches for the second and third cylinders being sub stantially onthe extended center line of said off-set central portion of the main-conduit, said line of division being adapted to give substantially equal qualitative distribution of fuel to all the cylinders.

2. An inlet manifold for multi-cylinder engines consisting of four cylinders arranged in a row and adapted to be supplied from one fuel source consisting of a main conduit and four branch conduits in communication with the main conduit, said main conduit having its central portion off-set toward the outlet of the said branch conduits, a carbureter conduit connected to said central off-set portion of the main conduit and the two intermediate branch conduits connected to said central off-set portion of the main conduit and having their outer walls constituting deliecting surfaces extending partially across the off-set central portion of -said mai-n conduit. j

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of April 1920.

ARTHUR HOLMES. Witnesses z H. B. Miam, Grao.V W. BELDEN. 

